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Joined: Jun 2003
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Looking forward to the time when at least soccer in these classification go to team seeding across the bracket, 1-16.

These pre-formed brackets are perennially dumb.

Joined: Apr 2008
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Please elaborate on your frustrations as we dust off the book of complaints. I do agree, pre fab is annoying.

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I'd be really curious to hear the opinion on seeding from people who have actually done it. I don't like the way it's done now for 3a 4a 5a, but I could easily see seeding being equally frustrating.

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We were in 2A for the past two years and I loved the seeding meeting. It was a chance for a coach to make their case for being better than a similar team. It rewards teams that schedule tough opponents.
Now that we are 3A, we are in the predetermined bracket and finished 2nd in our region while being ranked #2 in the state. So we will host the 1st round game and if we advance, will have to be on the road the rest of the playoffs.
If it were seeded 1-16 and we the 2 seed, we would host the first 3 rounds.

It would also give teams outside of the predetermined spots a chance at the playoffs. Look at the AAAAA Region 3. They have Clover, Rock Hill, Northwestern, Nation Ford and Fort Mill. On the boys side a few years ago, they were probably 5 of the top 15 teams in the state but one of them missed the playoffs.

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That sums it up.

The idea of the season is to get the best teams in the 16 team bracket according to how well they did.

You don’t get that with a pre determined bracket.

Imagine if you will, a 64 team bracket for NCAA basketball. 16 conferences get four spots each.

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Case and point is 4A boys. Last night Berea played at Wren. Berea (maxpreps #7) earned the 3 seed and played at 2 seed Wren (maxpreps #6). Greenville (maxpreps #13) was given an at-large bid and played at South Pointe (maxpreps #23). Maxpreps rankings aren't the end all, but they are a relative indicator in comparing teams. It makes no sense for an at-large team to have an easier match in the playoffs than a team that finished above them in their own region.

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I sat in the 2A seeding meeting for several years and I was not a fan. I thought there was too much gray area. For example, a team playing a much weaker schedule than another has a better record (13-2 vs 9-6 or 10-5) gets a better seed because their record is better. Also the buddy system/politics were definitely at play at the table. When I took part the only people at the table that could speak and debate were the “region representatives” unless a coach that was there was asked to speak by one of the said representatives. I was happy to move to the preformed bracket because you knew you had to earn your spot and region play was all that mattered. It was clearly defined and everyone was playing by the same set of rules.

Joined: Sep 2013
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Anything that attempts to bring parity and fairness to a playoff scenario deserves attention and discussion. On the surface, the 1-16/32 seeding scenario appears valid but scratch a little deeper and for me at least, its very problematic. How does this work in reality ? A seeding meeting ? surely not. Defeats the whole purpose. It has to be earned on the field. The only true way to do this is to do away with regions and everyone play everyone. Clearly a logistical impossibility when it comes to travel / cost / time etc. Regions are logistically convenient with legendary rivalries but of course some are naturally stronger than others. Alister alluded too this. Our AAAAA region 3 is traditionally strong top to bottom. NW this year for example took us to OT and a whisker of PK's. They finished 1-7 and us 8-0. Wasn't a one off as we had almost a full starting 11 to pick from. Just a battle tested region. Our at large bid in Fort Mill just knocked a 1 seed in Blythewood ( who they also beat non region in season ) so yes, this system is incredibly harsh on NW for example and can seem unfair but at least it's settled on the pitch as it should be. Look at Greenwood just knocking off Dorman. Seedings go out the window in playoffs anyway with the pressure it brings but of course you need a structure to begin with. Any playoff structure will have its flaws. I do believe that regions are the way to go with perhaps more opportunities for at large bids. I would actually lobby for a few more of these and call them old fashioned wildcards. Even have a structure that gives each 1 seed a bye and then the at large / wildcards can fight it out for a spot in 1st round. Unless I am missing something here, and please correct me, but I can't think of how we could settle on a true seeding top to bottom without having an off the field discussion / debate on seedings; which then flies in the face of why sports are so alluring at playoff time. You don't play on paper as they say and we all love the cinderella story in any sporting bracket. As some have said, strength of non region has to come into play. I have always done chosen tough schedules from day 1. Perhaps the max preps Strength of schedule or some other algorithm comes into play that takes "opinion" out of the equation.

Great question though and a great topic and will yield to any suggestions that improves the current format.

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Just a quick piggyback on my own post. Blythewood "won" 1st on a coin toss with Spring Valley for 1 and 2 seed respectively yet our "at large" 4th seed in Fort Mill ( 2-6 region ) beat Blythewood at their place 2-1 who were 7-1 in their region play same as Spring Valley who also lost at home vs our 3 seed Nation Ford 3-1. NW and FM split their contests 1-1 and so NW could realistically have beaten any region IV team "on paper". However, despite being last and 1-7, NW also deserve a wildcard / at large spot IMO and are (for me) potentially / realistically just as competitive than playoff teams who have already advanced past the 1st round but were never given a chance. I certainly wouldn't fancy meeting them in playoffs. So although it might seem that I am fighting against the current status quo and pre fab seedings, I am not. My fight is simply asking for more wildcard bids to give a chance for team to prove themselves non region who could not play them regular season for many many reasons. These 8 teams regions for example after tournaments simply have no / very few games left for non region. Also, extend playoffs so we don't play 5 games in less than 12 days but that is a whole other beast and conversation that I am preparing soon to take on ... nicely of course lol.

Joined: May 2008
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The reality is that EVERY team should get into the playoffs and then this is a moot point. Extend the tournament to 3 weeks with 2 games a week. This would help with weather issues in the spring which seems to happen every year. (And the state would make a bunch of extra money on ticket sales.). Then the top 24 teams (in 40 team 5A) would get a first round bye, while the last 16 would play. I am a fan of seeding meetings. Do upper-state and lower-state. It's ridiculous that a team like Clover, that was #1 in the country for a long part of this season, could have to travel for an away game in the 3rd and 4th round due to a pre-fab schedule. Let everyone it, seed like the NCAA, and the team on the top line is home. Like said above, if you beat a better team, you have earned their spot. Happened in NCAA a few years when Charlotte beat a higher seed and then hosted a nationally ranked Akron team because they were higher on the bracket. This would allow a school like Clover, that has earned their national ranking, to host games all the way up to the state final.
Another argument would be to play at a neutral site for the upper/lower state championships. This is what they already do for basketball to be fair. If it works for basketball why not soccer??
And lastly, let everyone in and get rid of regions. Go to regional conferences with teams from different divisions. The school could then pick their conference and we wouldn't have to re-align every 2 years. Why should Lancaster and Spartanburg be in a region (as they were a few years ago) or Rock Hill be in a region with Blythewood/SV and not Northwestern (which also happened a few years ago)?????

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